title: Self-reported stressors of National Guard women veterans before and after deployment: the relevance of interpersonal relationships.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With their rapidly expanding roles in the military, women service members experience significant stressors throughout their deployment experience. However, there are few studies that examine changes in women Veterans' stressors before and after deployment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examines the types of stressors women Veterans report before deployment, immediately after deployment, 3 months after deployment, and 1 year post-deployment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive data on reported stressors was collected at four time points of a longitudinal study (HEROES Project). Open-ended responses from the Coping Response Inventory (CRI) were coded into six possible major stressor categories for analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-nine Army National Guard and Reserve female personnel deploying to Operation Enduring Freedom (OFF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) were surveyed prior to deployment. Of these participants, 35 women completed Phase 2, 41 completed Phase 3, and 48 completed Phase 4 of the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified six major stressor categories: (1) interpersonal (i.e., issues with family and/or friends), (2) deployment-related and military-related, (3) health concerns, (4) death of a loved one, (5) daily needs (i.e., financial/housing/transportation concerns), and (6) employment or school-related concerns. At all time points, interpersonal issues were one of the most common type of stressor for this sample. Daily needs concerns increased from 3 months post-deployment to 1 year post-deployment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interpersonal concerns are commonly reported by women Veterans both before and after their combat experience, suggesting that this is a time during which interpersonal support is especially critical. We discuss implications, which include the need for a more coordinated approach to women Veterans' health care (e.g., greater community-based outreach), and the need for more and more accessible Veterans Affairs (VA) services to address the needs of female Veterans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, NJ War Related Illness & Injury Study Center, 385 Tremont Ave. Mailstop 129, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA. weiyin.yan@va.gov
authors.forename: Grace W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McAndrew
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: D'Andrea
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Quigley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D058014:Veterans Health / Q000639:trends; D055815:Young Adult